Chicago Blackhawks prospect Joni Tuulola and Finland will face off against Russia in the 2016 World Junior Championship gold-medal game Tuesday at Hartwall Arena.
Hawks prospects Gustav Forsling (Sweden) and Nick Schmaltz (USA) will battle each other in the bronze-medal game. Chicago is guaranteed two medalists.
Host Finland leads the tournament with 31 goals with three of the tournament’s top four scores. Jesse Puljujarvi (five goals and 15 points) and Sebastian Aho (four goals 12 points) are the top two, while Patrik Laine is fourth (six goals and 11 points). Tuulola has just one assist in the tournament.
American Auston Matthews is third with 11 points. Puljujarvi and Laine are both 2016 NHL Draft eligible, while Aho, 18, was the second-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015.
Russian goaltender Ilya Samsonov will look to crash the Finnish party. Smasonov, a ’15 first-round pick by the Washington Capitals, stopped 26 of 27 shots in a 2-1 semifinal win over the U.S. He has posted a .929 save percentage in 14 games for KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
Finish goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen has allowed six goals and 74 shots during the tournament. He made 21 saves in the semifinal win over Sweden.
The Swedes have tallied 26 goals. Forsling has two of the 26, both coming on the man-advantage.
Schmaltz has improved with each game during the tournament. The North Dakota sophomore had his best offensive game in the quarterfinal with a goal and two assists, which earned him U.S. player of the game honors. He has two goals and three assists in the tournament.
Schedule
| Matchup | Time | TV | Venue |
| USA vs. Sweden | 8 a.m. | NHLN-US | Hartwall Arena |
| Finland vs. Russia | 11:30 a.m. | NHLN-US | Hartwall Arena |
*All times are central
**Bolded teams feature Chicago prospects